This Camera Lens Was Never For Sale, But Here's Why It's Worth Millions

In the realm of cameras, names like Sony, Canon, and Nikon are often at the top of lists for professionals and enthusiasts alike. Then there are labels such as Hasselblad and Leica that sell engineering excellence as easily as they can their legacy. Even smartphone brands such as OnePlus and Xiaomi tout these names to advertise the cameras on their devices, so it's no surprise that some of the world's most expensive camera kits and lenses have flaunted the Leica branding. 

To give you an idea of how desirable these cameras are, a 1923 0-series Leica camera recently went for just over $16,000,000 USD at auction. Leica's lenses can also set you back a pretty penny, though. Once such lens, Leica's long-range and extremely elusive APO-Telyt-R 1600mm f/5.6 lens, is valued at just over $2,000,000. The lens is quite literally in a league of its own — so much so that only three were ever made, and none of them are actually for sale. 

One lens exists in the hands of a person linked to royal lineage. As per Apotelyt, the massive Leica lens was sold to Qatar's former minister of culture, Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani, one of the world's most prolific art collectors and a photography enthusiast. The other two remain property of Leica and sporadically appear in showcase events

The camera exists because of a special request from the owner, Sheik Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani. There's no explanation for why he wanted such a mammoth lens, but it was likely for wildlife photography. If you pay close attention to the gear of wildlife photographers, you'll notice the long camera lens kits that require both hands, or a stand, just to keep steady and click pictures. Those are long-range telephoto lenses; usually, the bigger they get, the higher the zoom they offer, and the more expensive the premium. 

By that definition, the Leica APO-Telyt-R 1600mm lens eclipses even the average telescope in your friendly neighborhood astronomer's balcony. The lens is 1.2 meters, and with the lens hood attached, you are looking at a kit that is 1.5 meters in length. The lens weighs over 130 pounds and has a barrel diameter of 42 millimeters, roughly the same size as a wall clock or large flowering pots. When Leica recently put it on showcase, the lens was towed on a trolley and took two people to install the hulking camera attachment on a table.

Camera lenses are expensive due to the sophisticated engineering that goes into making them, and the Leica APO-Telyt-R 1:5.6/1600mm is no exception. First unveiled in 2006, the APO-Telyt codename indicates that the kit includes an apochromatic lens to control color fringing. Armed with an f/5.6 lens and a 1600mm focal length, this Leica kit offers a one-of-a-kind super telephoto experience.

Just to give you an idea of the sheer range, Sony suggests using 750mm and 840mm lenses for taking pictures of the moon. Anything above the 400mm range usually falls in the Super Telephoto category, and it's a preferred choice for wildlife photography. "Photographing small and distant subjects requires a long focal length to fill the frame with the subject," explains Canon. So the Leica APO-Telyt-R 1:5.6/1600mm lens would prove to be a veritable beast at long-range photo and video capture.

Interestingly, the massive kit is modular and can be paired with Leica's 1.4x and 2x APO-teleconverters. According to Apotelyt, that combination will put you in command of an unprecedented 1:8/2,240mm and 1:11/3,200mm photography kit. Fittingly, the owner is said to have commissioned a custom all-wheel drive Mercedes ride just to haul the massive lens around. It's not known if Sheikh Al-Thani still has or uses his Leica lens today, but if you want to see a prototype unit in real life, prepare your passport for another stamp and head over to the company's showroom in Germany.